This application is based on French Patent Application No. 00 12 509 filed Oct. 2, 2000, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference thereto in its entirety, and the priority of which is hereby claimed under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7119.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a spring connector for electrically connecting at least one track of a display screen with an electrical circuit. It also relates to a display system including the spring connector and a terminal including the display.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The document WO-99/00877 discloses a metal spring connector for electrically connecting tracks of a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen to tracks of a printed circuit. The connector also holds the display screen in position.
Liquid crystal displays are covered with a material, such as indium tin oxide (ITO), that is fragile and therefore easily scratched by a metal connector of the type previously cited.
Another prior art solution interleaves a flexible connector between the tracks of the LCD and the tracks of the printed circuit. The connector is then compressed between the screen and the circuit. This kind of assembly is not simple and in the event of poor fixing the connection may be unreliable. Also, the force applied to the circuit is too high and the travel of the connector is too small to provide a reliable connection. An object of the invention is thus to alleviate the drawbacks of the prior art. It therefore proposes a connector not only for connecting a display to a printed circuit in a reliable and efficient manner, with no possibility of scratching the material covering the display screen, but also for holding the display in position. The connector is also easy to fit and remove.
The invention provides a spring connector for connecting at least one electrical track of a display screen with an electrical circuit, the connector including holding means for holding the display screen in position, a flexible metal foil forming a spring, and a plastics material film which includes at least one electrical track, has substantially the same shape as the metal foil, and is fixed to one face of the metal foil, wherein at least one of the tracks of the plastics material film is adapted to connect tracks of the display screen with the electrical circuit.
The spring connector is substantially S-shaped with a top part forming the means for holding the display screen in position.
The invention also provides a display system including a display screen, which includes at least one electrical track, an electrical circuit for controlling the display screen, and a spring connector of the type previously cited, wherein the display screen and the electrical circuit are disposed substantially facing each other.
The invention finally provides a terminal including the above display system and further including support means for supporting the display screen and the electrical circuit and spacer means for maintaining the spacing between the display screen and the electrical circuit.
The invention will become clearer in the light of the following description, which is given with reference to the accompanying drawings.